Celebrity cook Aktar strikes out on own with ‘best pizzas in town’
CELEBRITY Birmingham chef Aktar Islam has revealed he is set to launch two restaurants in the coming months.
The much-anticipated 70-cover Opheem – championing ‘progressive Indian cuisine’ – will open in June, in the Summer Row site of the former Mechu bar.
But Mr Islam, who made his name with his creative fine dining take on Indian cuisine during Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word in 2010, is now planning to open a new Italian restaurant next door.
Mi Amore Ristorante Pizzeria will open in the former FSK steak restaurant, also in Summer Row in May. Diners will be able to choose from dishes including Manzon brasato (braised beef, saffron orzo, red wine sauce, gremolata, and Spigola) sea bass with tomatoes caper and black olives, and spinach and red pepper tortellini. There will also be range of pizzas. Mr Islam left his role as chef director of the renowned Lasan restaurant group in October.
The chef who has been seen numerous times on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen told the Birmingham Post: “It’s been a very busy few months for me.
“I’m really excited to be opening my own restaurant where I will be back in the kitchen cooking and taking diners on a real culinary journey of India.
“But I’ve also always been passionate about Italian food, especially pizza.
“When I knew FSK was available so close to Opheem, it was a no brainer for me to open Mi Amore there.
“I’ve developed the menu and it’s a real mixture of modern contemporary Italian and authentic classics, so something for everyone. And as we know you can never go wrong with well made pizza with quality ingredients.
“It will be the best pizza place in town.”
Mr Islam already has e x per i e nce of running a pizza restaurant.
Last April, as Lasan Group chef director, he helped launch Izza Pizza Selfridges in the Bullring. The eatery, which specialised in handcrafted sourdough pizza and won some rave reviews on TripAdvisor, closed three months after Mr Islam left the company. The 37-year-old chef first announced he was opening his first solo venture, Opheem, back in February. in